InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Hallows' Eve ❯ Story Time ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

 

Chapter 2 – Story Time

 

 

 

 

 

As the night progressed, Inuyasha found himself relaxing more and more around the humans of Kagome's time. Nobody had suspected a thing about him, and he was treated just like any other human in their company. He'd never really been a part of Kagome's world before, and for her to bring him into something like this… Well, it really meant a lot to him. He sat back, content in his quiet little corner of the room, as he watched her laugh and mingle, visiting with all of the people who had used to be a part of her everyday life, until the day she had been thrust into his. He knew that Kagome didn't necessarily consider herself to be normal, either, so he was glad that he had been able to give her at least this one night.

 

Then somebody got the bright idea to start telling ghost stories, which quickly proved thoroughly entertaining, and when it was finally Kagome's turn, Inuyasha couldn't help but to chuckle at the story she decided to tell. The village of the oni-women, she called the tale, as she proceeded to recap the time that they and their friends had encountered the widower village that had been overtaken by a salamander youkai. The way she told it made it sound like a very spooky story indeed. The lost travelers, coming upon a town of nothing but women who seemed to be possessed, only to find out that they were possessed. The innocent man back from the wars, looking for his lost fiancée. The traveling companions, who secretly loved each other, being forced to fight against one another when the woman was captured and corrupted by a salamander egg. The scroll they seemingly all worshiped, which contained the spirit of the defeated youkai. It all fit together quite nicely.

 

Then it was Inuyasha's turn to tell a story, and while he tried to politely turn everyone down, and even Kagome was on his side, trying to get somebody else to go in his place, the majority of adolescents present insisted that he take his turn telling a story, despite the fact that he claimed not to know any.

 

“Oh just make something up,” somebody said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

 

Inuyasha didn't know what to do. He felt cornered, and when he felt cornered, he had a tendency to strike back, like any cornered animal would do. Seeking guidance in Kagome's eyes, she looked back at him with a sympathetic shrug of her shoulders, as if to say that she understood his plight, but was also powerless to assist him. But then he noticed her lips were moving, and tuning out the sounds of everything else around him, he focused his ears on the whispered words leaving her lips that were uttered so softly that only he could hear them.

 

“Just pick something real,” she said, and he quickly realized that she was referring to something that had actually happened, just like the story that she herself had told.

 

Pick something real, huh? he thought, pondering for a moment on what would make a decent tale, that had a happy ending, as Kagome's tale had.

 

Not many instances of his life in fact had happy endings, but more of them had started to since the day he'd met her. Running through the mental catalog of adventures they'd shared so far in his mind, Inuyasha stared blankly at the far wall across the room as he pondered, and then a cardboard cutout tapped to the wall caught his attention. Smiling, he picked a topic that he felt would satisfy the story-hungry humans, and knowing very well how to tell the tale from Kagome's example, he began.

 

“This is the store of a young hanyou girl…a bat hanyou.”

 

Everyone gasped playfully at the way he emphasized the word bat, and he grinned. Glancing at Kagome, she smiled and nodded approvingly.

 

He then proceeded to tell the tale as it had unfolded, more or less, with himself in the role of presumed bad-guy, at least at first. The poor young hanyou girl had her moment first, of course. The telling of her life, of how she had been ripped away from her mother as trade to cease the slaughter of her human brethren, only to then be betrayed by the terror-bats who continued to feed upon her village despite their promise.

 

Enter the inu-youkai – He had decided to make himself a full youkai. Why not? It was his story – who was seeking the holder of the bat-youkai's barrier, to slay it, and have his sword drink its blood. More word emphasis, followed by more playful gasping. Kagome chuckled, and quietly whispered that he was surprisingly good at storytelling.

 

The partygoers quickly learned that this particular inu-youkai had a compassionate heart, thanks mostly to the influence of his miko companion, although he liked to hide it. Kagome was incredibly touched that he'd say such a thing. Inuyasha then went on to say how the inu-youkai hadn't had the heart to slay the hanyou girl, and instead had fought for her freedom, attacking the bat-youkai when they next struck the village. And what ghost story would be complete without an actual ghost? The spirit of the hanyou girl's dead father, protecting her and her mother from the final blast…that was a nice touch, everyone agreed. In the end, the young hanyou girl had let the inu-youkai increase his sword's power by drinking the blood of her ancestors, which was contained within the crystal ball that she'd let him shatter, and so the story even had a moral in that by giving up what he had desired in order to do the right thing, he had ended up acquiring what it was that he had been after all along.

 

Over all, the story was deemed a success, and pretty soon, the rounds were picked up again, as others who had yet to take a turn were then forced into telling a story.

 

“Well, I'm sure Kagome could probably tell this one better than me,” Eri piped up, knowing that her sickly friend would be quite familiar with it. “This story also takes place over five hundred years ago, at the very shrine where Kagome grew up.”

 

Most everyone giggled in anticipation of yet another ancient tale, while the two people adorned with doggy ears had very different reactions. Inuyasha shot his companion a confused look, seeking explanation, but Kagome could only stare back at him with an expression of shock and horror, mixed with...apology? Which of course immediately had him nervous as hell.

 

Just what the hell kind of story-

 

“This tale is called 'The Hanyou and the Miko,'” Eri started, and Inuyasha suddenly found himself having a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 

The hanyou and the…? Kagome never told me that there were legends about me…us…

 

“There once was a jewel of great power,” Eri continued, sounding rather mysterious. “It was said that whomsoever possessed it would have unlimited power, and as such, it was sought after far and wide, by humans and youkai alike.”

 

Just sit and smile, just sit and smile, and nod when appropriate… Inuyasha told himself.

 

“The jewel was entrusted to a very powerful miko, whose sole duty was to protect and purify it, slaying all youkai who crossed her path seeking its power.”

 

Then one day… Kagome began in her mind, having read the scroll and reread the scroll more times than she could count.

 

“Then one day…” Eri continued, “…an inu-hanyou-”

 

“Just like you two!” someone merrily interrupted, pointing to Inuyasha and Kagome, who both diligently ignored the outburst.

 

“…also came seeking its powers,” Eri said, also ignoring the interruption. “He longed to use the jewel’s power to become a full-blooded youkai.” She paused there for dramatic effect, and also to take a sip of her soda.

 

The moment left a window of opportunity for someone else to ask, “Why would he want to do that?” at which point Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, “Because hanyou are neither youkai nor human, and are looked down upon by both species.”

 

Several people heard him however, and commented with things like “That's sad,” and “How awful.”

 

Kagome chimed in then, seeing Eri's annoyance at continually being interrupted, and said, “Which is why we've dressed like this, to honor that very hanyou. Eri, please continue.” Not that she really wanted Eri to continue, but Kagome knew that there was no way around it.

 

She dressed like that to…honor me?

 

“The miko had no qualms with slaying all youkai who sought the jewel, but because the hanyou was half human, she could not bring herself to kill him. He, in turn, could never bring himself to harm the miko in order to take the jewel from her, and spent several weeks following after her, looking for the right time to steal it. As time went on, they grew to become companions, the hanyou and the miko, and they spoke often, until one day, the miko offered the hanyou use of the jewel.”

 

Everyone gasped, and Eri grinned.

 

“Not to use it to become a full youkai, oh no, but to use it to become fully human, instead.”

 

“Oh I know this story!” Yuka piped up happily, and Eri grinned, not at all offended by her interruption, as Yuka proceeded to elaborate with, “The hanyou and the miko fell in love!”

 

“Right!” Eri nodded. “And in using the jewel to become human, they would have been married.”

 

“Right! Because the jewel would have disappeared, leaving the miko free from her duty,” Yuka added, as the two of them started telling the story together, taking turns back and forth.

 

It was Eri who said, “But then one day, no one knows why, the hanyou betrayed the miko.”

 

No one noticed Inuyasha's ears lowering in dejection at her words, which was a very good thing actually, considering they were supposed to be fake Halloween props.

 

“He attacked her, and then her village, stealing the jewel,” Yuka elaborated, blissfully unaware of the very real inu-hanyou's darkening mood as their story continued.

 

“Right,” Eri said with a nod, finishing with, “and right before she died, she shot him with a sacred arrow, pinning him to the Goshinboku tree which still lives at the Higurashi Shrine to this very day. That bare spot on its bark is where the hanyou was once pinned.” She grinned. “According to legend, at least,” she amended, since it was just a story.

 

“He never betrayed her,” Inuyasha mumbled to himself, albeit loud enough for a few others close by to hear him.

 

He flinched when he felt Kagome pat his back, not really sure he wanted or deserved her comfort at the moment.

 

“Well the scrolls say-” Eri started.

 

“The scrolls are wrong,” Kagome interrupted, keeping her voice low, but firm. “A wounded bandit the miko had been taking care of also sought the jewel, and as his injuries were much too severe to recover from, he gave his body and soul over to hordes of lower youkai, becoming a self-made hanyou of darkness.”

 

“Where'd you read that?” Eri asked skeptically.

 

She knew the ancient myths nearly as well as Kagome herself, and while she would admit that Kagome probably had the legends memorized a little better than she did, she was certain that she wouldn't have forgotten a piece of information that important.

 

“It's not written in any of the scrolls, because nobody knew it ever happened,” the miko answered, daring anyone to challenge her on the logic behind what she'd just said. “The inu-hanyou and the miko loved each other deeply, but they were tricked into betraying one another by the dark hanyou, who first took the form of the inu-hanyou before gravely wounding the miko and stealing the jewel, only to return the jewel to its proper place in the village shrine, because it was not yet tainted with enough hatred. He then proceeded to take the form of the miko and attack the inu-hanyou, who was waiting for her to arrive with the jewel so that he could become human. After her seemingly cruel words of betrayal, the inu-hanyou did steal the jewel from the village, believing himself to be the one who was betrayed, and then yes, the real miko did fire her sealing arrow, pinning him to the Goshinboku just before she died, but they had each only done these things because they had both been tricked into doing so.”

 

“How sad,” Ayumi said quietly, trying not to cry for fear of ruining her glittery makeup.

 

“What's sad is that history can't even get it straight. The inu-hanyou never betrayed the miko, he loved her...”

 

Trailing off more to herself, in words so soft that almost no one heard her, Kagome added, “She was the only woman he ever loved.”

 

“Excuse me,” Inuyasha said suddenly, rather politely for himself, actually, as he stood up and headed in the direction of the restroom.

 

Kagome wanted to follow after him, but figured that he probably needed to be alone for a few minutes. Besides, it would look weird if she were to follow him into the bathroom.

 

Regrettably, the miko realized that she never should have come to this stupid party. But who knew that a Halloween party, of all things, would end up opening old wounds for her beloved hanyou? She'd make it up to him however she could, she vowed to herself in that moment. No 'sits' for at least two weeks, and plenty of extra ramen.

 

Kagome also knew that Inuyasha really wasn't one for dwelling on his feelings, at least publicly, and so she would also do good to not bring it up at all, unless of course he mentioned it first, which she honestly doubted he would. He'd most likely act as though nothing had happened, as if nothing was wrong, and if so then she would give him that; he'd need it.

 

Inuyasha, meanwhile, had found the restroom, and was currently staring at himself in the mirror above the sink, Kagome's words echoing loudly in his mind.

 

“She was the only woman he ever loved.”

 

Yes, I did love Kikyou, but…

 

A whole barrage of memories flashed before the hanyou's eyes, as he stared into his own amber depths in the mirror before him, trying to determine just what it was about his eyes that ofttimes had Kagome so fixated. She'd told him more than once that she loved their unique color, and he'd even overheard her tell Sango in private more than once that she could actually find herself getting lost in his gaze.

 

Lost was what he became in that moment, in his own memories, as he recalled everything since the day he'd first met her, the miko from the future. He recalled how she'd cried for him, and cried because of him. All the times he'd saved her life, and all the times she'd saved his…and Kikyou's. How many times had she saved Kikyou in the past? Even when, in the early days, Kikyou had tried to kill her, Kagome had never once raised her voice to say one mean or hurtful thing about her preincarnation.

 

Granted, she was nicer to that mangy wolf than Inuyasha would prefer, but whenever Kouga tried to put him down, she always came to his defense, and once, she'd even flung herself into his embrace right in front of the wolf, during one of the times she had feared him dead.

 

Kagome had grown to be quite important to him over the years, and the time he'd nearly lost her to Naraku's baby, because of the darkness in her heart, had hurt him more than he ever let anyone realize, because he knew what that darkness in her heart really was. He still couldn't forgive himself for that, for nearly delivering her to Naraku himself, and all because of his foolishness. He had only felt guiltier when he'd heard her shout out that she loved him at the top of her lungs. He was undeserving of her love. But yet, at the same time, he couldn't help the tiniest of smiles at the simple truth that she did love him, whether he deserved it or not. Inuyasha didn't honestly know what he'd do if he ever really lost her. Yes, Kikyou's death had caused him tears, but then again, Kagome's near death that one time had caused him tears as well, and that had been the first time he'd ever cried since his mother's death.

 

Turning on the sink so that nobody would start to wonder if he was okay in there, Inuyasha gazed at his reflection just a brief moment longer.

 

Twitching his ears, he struggled to see what it was that Kagome found so 'cute' about them. They branded him as a hanyou, a half-breed, demon spawn amongst humans, and a pathetic halfling amongst youkai. He was a part of both worlds, yet truly belonged to neither. Stuck, trapped, suspended in the middle, unable to move in one direction or the other. Be that as it may, he had still told Kagome that he would stay hanyou a little while longer, for her sake, though truth be told, he didn't think that he ever wanted to use the jewel to become a full-fledged youkai. Not any longer. Not after learning what it would truly mean for him if he were one. But he absolutely hated being human. One night a month was beyond what he could tolerate, and he was only ever so thankful that Kagome liked him as a hanyou, because he knew with certainty that he no longer wanted to use the jewel to become a human, either.

 

Actually, she said she loves me as a hanyou… he reminded himself then, as he recalled the one and only kiss they'd ever shared, and the second love confession from the young miko that she probably had no idea he remembered. He'd just had to go and be a dick to her about the kiss afterwards, hadn't he? Damn Miroku and his teasing...

 

Turning off the water, Inuyasha absently fingered the rosary around his neck. How he'd loathed the thing in the beginning, and still kind of did, although he supposed it didn't really bother him quite so much anymore. Kagome didn't say 'it' nearly as often as she'd used to, though she did still have her moments. It had hurt him, at first, when she'd repaired it after the thing had broken, thinking that she hadn't trusted him enough to let him go with out it, but then he had found out later from Miroku that Kagome actually considered the magic of the rosary to be a type of bond shared only between the two of them. It didn't even bother her that Kikyou had actually been the one to make the thing, although that little tidbit of information had bothered him when he'd first found out, having originally thought that Kaede had made it. But regardless of where the rosary had originally come from, didn't Kagome understand that there was already a bond between them? How else could they have reached each other through the Goshinboku, through time itself? Why else would she have been thrust into his world in the first place, and he be the only one from his time able to enter hers?

 

“She was the only woman he ever loved.”

 

That's not true… he thought as he shut off the light, turning to head back in the direction of the living room where everyone else was still gathered, Miroku's words from that morning about living while you were alive suddenly ringing in his ears.

 

“Is your boyfriend all right?” he heard Ayumi ask Kagome then, nearly a whisper. “He seemed a little upset over the hanyou/miko story.”

 

“Ummm…” he heard Kagome start hesitantly, but by that time he was already among them, having silently made his return, so he quickly decided to help her out, while simultaneously letting her know that he wasn't upset.

 

“Just like Kagome said, it's just sad when history gets stuff wrong. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a historian, myself. My family has a few private stories that never made it to the scrolls, passed down verbally from generation to generation. Why do you think they named me Inuyasha?”

 

Kagome was surprised to find Inuyasha standing right next to them, having been distracted by Ayumi's question, but she smiled when she saw the way he smiled down at her, before promptly taking his old seat right beside her. That he'd lied so smoothly to her friend for her was also a pleasant surprise, and while she was somewhat shocked that he'd thought of something so simple, yet so brilliant, and so quickly, Kagome offered him another smile to let him know that she sincerely appreciated his words, in more ways than one. Yes, he'd bailed her out since she had been at a loss for what to tell her friend, but much more than that, he'd told her that he wasn't upset over what had transpired, and for that, she was relieved.

 

With story time over – thank the gods – everyone was currently engaged in various conversations, smaller groups of more close-knit friends forming here and there, while a few people debated on what games could be played next. Glancing around the room, Inuyasha was reminded in that moment of the same thing he'd first noticed earlier. The only other matching pairs, as far as costumes were concerned, were among mated couples. Was that a 'mate' thing, then? To wear a matching costume? That girl with the pink dress and wings had called him Kagome's boyfriend, and blushing slightly, Inuyasha was pretty sure he understood the foreign term. Hadn't Souta asked Hitomi if she'd be his 'girlfriend' when he'd professed his feelings for the girl?

 

So…did that mean that everyone thought they were mated? Or at the very least, that he was courting her? Inwardly, Inuyasha actually found himself smiling at the idea.

 

“Soup's on!” someone shouted suddenly, as they proceeded to dump a ton of candy corn into the center of the circle that most of the teens were still sitting in, and everyone laughed as a result, diving forward to grab helpings of the sugary confection.

 

Then, somebody who was either offended at having candy dumped on them, or at least didn't appreciate being surprised in that way, grabbed a handful of said candy and threw it at the person who'd more or less dumped it in everyone's laps. As a result, that person quickly whirled around, revealing that they hadn't depleted their entire stock, as they proceeded to throw some of it back at the person who'd first thrown it at them. Blinking, the next thing Inuyasha knew, everyone was throwing candy corn at everybody else, laughing and screaming, and running and ducking behind the furniture for cover.

 

Oh why the hell not… he thought with a smirk, as he cried “Come on!” before grabbing Kagome's hand and practically dragging her to safety behind the couch, as though they were truly under attack.

 

“Stay down, I'll protect you,” he said with a smirk and a wink, which caused Kagome to giggle, to which he smiled, as he stuck his head up from behind the safety of the couch and proceeded to throw handfuls of candy in random directions.

 

Kagome couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard, but seeing Inuyasha get pelted in the face with candy corn had her cracking up hysterically. Especially when upon attempting to shout out a curse a second beforehand it resulted in a couple of the pieces actually landing inside his mouth, only to be promptly spat back out onto the floor.

 

“That crap tastes nasty,” he complained while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, which had her laughing even harder.

 

Focusing on Kagome in that moment, the hanyou tried to get her to hush up, lest she give away their position, which only made her continue laughing, and as a result, neither of them heard the vampire that was slowly encroaching upon their position. Under the semblance of playful fun and games, Hojo took it upon himself to get even in the only way his Mr. Nice Guy wishy-washy personality would permit, by dumping a huge bowl of candy corn directly atop Inuyasha's head.

 

Said hanyou's quiet laughter quickly turned into a startled yelp, which shocked Kagome sober, her eyes bolting wide open at the sound only to see Inuyasha with his ears pinned down, and a miserable expression plastered on his face as he tilted his head and shook it.

 

It was easy to figure out what had happened.

 

“Hojo! That was so rude!” she scolded, to which the boy merely grinned and walked away, unaware that he had actually injured his rival in love.

 

“Come on,” the miko said softly, offering Inuyasha her hand. “Try not to shake your head, we'll leave right now.”

 

“Feh,” he mumbled, more embarrassed than anything else.

 

“Guys,” she started, addressing her three friends mostly, since the vast majority of teenagers present completely ignored her as their antics continued.

 

A few random screams could be heard, the music was once again blasting loudly, and somebody was making popcorn, but through it all she managed to track down Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, and let them know that she'd had a blast, but that her stomach was starting to bother her a little bit, and so she thought it best if she headed home. They smiled, and hugging her goodbye, told her to take it easy, while Hojo, who had somehow snuck up on her yet again, took it upon himself in that moment to inform her of the beneficial properties of black licorice root for stomach ulcers.

 

Blatantly ignoring Hojo's latest medicinal advice, Kagome at least included his presence as she waved everyone goodbye. She then promptly grabbed Inuyasha's hand again and led the miserable hanyou out of the wild party.

 

“Are you all right?” she asked once they were out of earshot of the few people hanging out on the front lawn.

 

“I think just one piece got in there, at least,” he grumbled, while proceeding to reach up to touch his left ear, but she stopped him by releasing his right hand and walking around him to grab his left hand with her right, instead.

 

“Just hold on until we get back to the shrine, and then we'll take care of it,” she assured him softly.

 

“I'm sorry if I ruined your party,” he apologized, surprising her with his words.

 

“He who never apologizes for anything, apologizes for this?” she asked incredulously, attempting to conceal her genuine amazement with humor.

 

“Keh.”

 

“It wasn't your fault. Takumi started it,” she pointed out.

 

He just shrugged.

 

Once they made it back to the shrine, Kagome was surprised, at first, to discover that nobody else was home, until she remembered that Souta had said that that year, he wanted to go Trick-or-Treating with Hitomi, who lived across town. So their mother had obviously taken him in the car, and Kagome imagined that the older woman probably hadn't wanted to just drop him off on the other side of town by himself, no matter how safe the neighborhood supposedly was – he was and would forever be her little boy, after all – so then their grandfather must have also gone with them to keep her mother company while the two of them stayed and waited, quietly observing Souta and Hitomi from a distance. They'd probably be gone for a couple more hours yet.

 

“Here, have a seat,” Kagome phrased carefully, as she positioned her injured friend at the kitchen table before moving to retrieve something from one of the cabinets.

 

The small vocal sound of triumph “Ah-ha!” preceded Kagome returning to the table with a small black leather pouch, the miko promptly opening said pouch to reveal a small collection of bizarre metal tools.

 

“What is that stuff?” Inuyasha asked, pointing to her veterinary equipment.

 

“When Buyo was little, he used to get all sorts of weeds stuck in his ears,” the miko answered as way of explanation.

 

She then proceeded to pick up the special tweezers that functioned more like a miniature claw from a stuffed animal machine than a set of conventional tweezers, and very carefully glanced inside Inuyasha's ear with the tiny flashlight built into the tool.

 

“Yup, I just see one, fortunately.”

 

“Feh, just hurry it up, will ya?”

 

“Why yes, you're most welcome that I am helping you with this. No problem at all, my pleasure,” she answered dryly.

 

“…thank you,” he mumbled under his breath, sounding thoroughly dejected, like a young child being forced by their parents to apologize to somebody.

 

But Kagome smiled nonetheless, and proceeded to yank the candy out of his ear. He yelped softly, despite the fact that he'd tried desperately to hold it in, but he soon found that his pain was quickly fading away, and belatedly realized after a moment that Kagome was massaging his ear.

 

“Is that better?” she asked sincerely, no hint of teasing in her voice.

 

“K-Kagome…” Shakily, he reached up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from his ear.

 

“Sorry,” she mumbled, turning her face away in embarrassment. She knew he didn't like it whenever anyone touched his ears.

 

But the miko was surprised when she tried to move away, only to find that his grip on her wrist hadn't loosened yet.

 

“Inuyasha?”

 

Turning back to face the hanyou, Kagome gasped. There was something shining in his eyes that she'd never seen before.

 

“There's...something...I need to talk to you about,” he stated suddenly, finally releasing his grip on her wrist when he registered her surprised expression at the prolonged contact.

 

“Look, Inuyasha,” she started understandingly. “If this is about-”

 

“Why didn't you ever tell me that Kikyou and I were a legend in your time?” he asked her bluntly, his voice genuinely curious and not accusing or demanding.

 

“Well...” she started, hesitating as she tried to find the best words to use. “I guess I'd figured that it would only bring up old pain if you knew. I didn't see why it really mattered, and I honestly hadn't thought that you would ever find out. I'd figured that it was for the best if you didn't know.”

 

He nodded slowly, truly taking in her words before asking for clarification, “So…you kept the information from me…to protect me? To protect my feelings? Because you thought it was for the best?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I understand.”

 

Something about the sudden tone of his voice, coupled with the look in his eyes, told Kagome that Inuyasha really did understand, though she also got the distinct impression, somehow, that he was talking about much more than just the history scrolls.

 

“There's a lot of stuff I've kept from you, too, to protect you,” he confessed suddenly, quietly, and she gulped at the intensity of his stare.